“Jackson!”
The side door opened and the girls clamoured down and he barely had time to juggle around his weapons before they were hugging him. He wasn’t expecting this kind of greeting. Suddenly the ache wasn’t so bad.
“Good news, Veronica found her brother down at the camp. Ya wanna go meet him?” The girls nodded eagerly. “Alright, load up then.”
He opened the passenger door and nodded at Jenny as he settled into the seat.
“Your people mopped the floor with those guys. Far as I could see, they had the trucks surrounded and everybody made it through.”
“Good,” she sighed, before shifting the van into gear and driving them down to the camp. By the time Jenny parked the van next to the other vehicles, the camp was a frenzy of activity.
“Ya girls stay here a sec while I find out what’s goin’ on,” he said, getting out of the van. Girls didn’t need to get a front row seat to the pile of bodies in the bed of the pickup.
He spotted Veronica standing next to her brother and a young woman who had to be her sister. They were talking to a big black guy that Jackson instantly pegged as a cop. His time on the wrong side of the law had given him a sixth sense for spotting anyone with a badge.
“Jackson, over here,” Veronica called, waving him over. His gaze darted between the brother and the cop, both men watching him approach with calculating eyes. “Jackson, this is Quinton, Claudia and Malcolm.”
Malcolm held out his hand and Jackson shook it, noting when Malcolm spotted the tattoo on his wrist. When Malcolm made eye contact again, Jackson saw the silent message there.
Malcolm knew what he was and he wanted him to know it.
Message received.
“Veronica was just telling us about where you stayed last night,” Malcolm said. “We’re gonna have to bug out of here in case any of their buddies come looking for them. Veronica thinks it would be a good place to move to for the night.”
“She’d know best,” he said with a shrug.
He wondered what angle the man was working here. If he was expecting him to buck against authority he was going to be in for a surprise. He’d learned long ago to keep his head down and listen to the screws.
“It’s off the beaten path,” Veronica said, “But close enough to the north gates to make a move out of the park if it comes to that.”
“Sounds good,” Malcolm said before cupping his hands around his mouth and calling out to the rest of the camp. “All right, I want everyone loaded up in ten! We’re moving out!”
“Quinton, you mind taking one of the vehicles and following Alan while he drops off the bodies?” Malcolm asked and Quinton nodded, heading over to the pickup where the man that had to be Alan was covering the bodies in back with a tarp. “Claudia, you mind helping Janet load up the kids?”
She followed in her brother’s footsteps, hugging Veronica and heading off to do Malcolm’s bidding. It was clear who was in charge here and even the newest additions were quickly falling into line.
“We got an injured man. Jackson, you mind helping me load him in the van?” Malcolm’s easy voice did nothing to relax him. He knew when he was being hauled in for questioning and he knew it would be easier if he didn’t resist.
“Sure,” he said before glancing at Veronica. “Girls are in the van. Ya mind checkin’ on ’em?”
He matched Malcolm stride for stride as they headed to the building near the tree line. Jackson felt the tension between them grow until he couldn’t take it anymore.
“Just ask already,” he barked out, coming to a stop.
“Ask what?”
“What I was in for,” Jackson replied with a smirk. “Ya know cops and cons can always spot each other.”
Malcolm smiled. “I’m not a cop.”
“Bullshit. You’ve got lawman written all over you.”
“I’m CIA.”
That wiped the smirk right off his face.
“Yer a spook? Well, fuck me.”
Malcolm chuckled. “
Was
a spook. I’m retired now.”
“Look man, I don’t want to end up bein’ water boarded or some shit so just ask your questions and I’ll answer ‘em, okay?”
“I just want to know what your story is.”
“Armed robbery and attempted murder.” Jackson expected him to say something but Malcolm just waited for him to explain it all. “I was usin’ so I robbed a store to get a fix. Ended up shootin’ the clerk. He lived and I did a dime.”
“You clean?”
“Since I went inside.” His hand went to his pocket, feeling the disc through the denim, but he didn’t pull it out. It wasn’t something he showed to just anyone.
“Congratulations,” Malcolm said and Jackson could tell he was sincere. “So the deal is this. You watch our backs and we’ll watch out for you and your girls as long as you’re with us. It’s as simple as that. You in or out?”
Well, hell.
He’d been expecting to be told to haul ass far away from this place, not offered a chance to join them. He hadn’t considered they’d stay. He wasn’t sure it was the best idea.
He’d never really fit in with people like these folks before and, in such small numbers, he’d stick out like a sore thumb. While Malcolm might be willing to give him a chance, what about the others? What would the mothers and doctors think about rubbing elbows with the likes of him? Malcolm might be in charge but if enough of them put up a fuss, he could be asked to leave.
“I ain’t committin’ to anythin’ long term but I’m willin’ to help getcha to the new camp.”
Malcolm nodded and held out his hand so they could shake on it. He’d give it a night and see where things stood in the morning.
Subject File # 742
Administrator - You’ve said that the island is what kept you going. Why?
Subject - Isn’t it obvious? It was a safe place.
Administrator - There are plenty of places you could have made safe instead of travelling halfway across the country.
Subject - I made them a promise when we met that we would get to the island and it would be safe. Guess it became this symbol of hope for us. If we gave up before we got there, it would be like we were giving up on hope.
The sun was just beginning to dip behind the mountains when the caravan pulled up to the rest area. It didn’t take long for the group to get to work setting up camp inside the ring of parked vehicles. They worked in almost complete silence, the occasional request for help the only sound that was heard over the crickets.
After what had happened today, everyone was on edge, even the children. It hadn’t been too long ago that these people had been teachers, car salesmen, doctors and nurses. Now they were combat soldiers.
And so Malcolm made the rounds of the group, taking a moment to speak to everyone to see where their heads were at. The men who had attacked them might have been monsters, as dangerous as the freaks that wanted to tear flesh from bone but they were still men. Taking a life was never an easy thing, even for someone with his experience. Though everyone had said they were coping, he’d keep an eye on everyone over the coming days for any signs of PTSD.
When he was done, he found Kim and Trey setting up tents within the circle of vehicles. The circle would offer them cover and it would provide a quick route from tent to car if they needed to bug out in the middle of the night.
“You two willing to take a watch shift tonight?” he asked them as he bent down to help snap the poles into place.
“Me too?” Trey asked and Malcolm nodded.
“You’re ready for it. You did great today.” Malcolm looked up at Kim. “Both of you did. You stayed calm and you did exactly what you were taught. You guys are the reason we made it out of there whole.”
Trey drank up the praise and stood a little taller as his hand dropped down to rest on his holster.“We can take a shift, right Mom?”
“Of course we can,” she said, a sad smile on her face. “Better go get something to eat, then straight to bed. You’ll need to be alert for our shift. Malcolm and I will finish the tents.”
Trey nodded and when he was gone, Malcolm turned to Kim, reaching out to stroke her cheek. “What’s wrong?”
She stepped towards him, wrapping her arms around his waist and he nestled her against his chest.
“I want to be able to praise him for being valedictorian or getting into a good college, not for shooting people.” Her breath hitched and he pressed a kiss to the top of her head, waiting for her to continue. “I know it can’t be that way anymore but I can’t stop wanting it. It hurts to know that this is his life now…a child soldier.”
Her last words were choked out and he put a finger under her chin, tilting her head up so he could kiss away the tears that were gathering at the corner of her eyes.
“I promise you, he won’t have to be one when we get to the island. It’ll be different there. We’ll be safe and he can go back to being a kid. It won’t be exactly what you dreamed of but what happened today won’t happen there.”
“Malcolm, I love you for trying but you know you can’t promise that. We have no control over what happens to us now.”
“We had no control over what happened to us before either. Life is chaos and random events and blind luck, apocalypse or not. Back then, I made promises to protect the ones I loved and I’m still going to keep doing it. I might fail but I will try my goddamn hardest to keep that promise.”
“You are a good man, Malcolm Evans,” she said, cupping his cheeks in her hands and kissing him. He couldn’t wipe the satisfied smirk on his face as she nestled herself into his arms, resting a cheek on his chest. “You know, I had always hoped Trey would become a doctor. I guess that’s out the window.”
“Maybe not. We’ve got a doctor with us now. He could always teach Trey.”
“So Quinton and his sisters are staying with us?”
“I think so. When I told him about the island, he seemed open to it. He said he’d have to talk it over with his sisters. I figure Claudia won’t be a problem, she’s found a place here in a short time. The older one, Veronica, I don’t know which way the wind’ll blow with that one.”
“Why? I’d think she’d want to stay with her family.”
“Might be she’s got a new family now. She’s been with that man and his girls since she was separated from us in Maryville.”
“The man, is he okay?”
“Jackson?” Malcolm considered telling her about the man’s past but he knew that it would only cause undue worry for Kim. Malcolm knew when he was being lied to and Jackson had been nothing but honest with him so far.
And, according to Veronica, he’d helped her instead of taking advantage and that counted for a lot in Malcolm’s books. “He’s good. He went above and beyond for Veronica without expecting anything in return.”
“Well, then let’s hope they all choose to stay. They are the kind of people we want to build our new home with.”
Home
. He liked the sound of that.
Subject File # 750
Administrator - You have feelings for him.
Subject - Oh my god, you have no idea what you’re talking about!
Administrator - The lady doth protest too much, methinks.
Subject - ‘It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.’ See, I can quote Macbeth too.
“You really think there’s a safe place like that out there?”
Veronica stood with Quinton and Claudia on the edge of the camp, the three of them having an impromptu Alpert family meeting. Quinton had just explained about Malcolm working for the CIA and the island paradise that was supposedly up north.
Quinton shrugged his shoulders. “I think that if anybody has a place like that, it’s going to be the CIA.”
“But heading that far north? The roads can be dangerous,” Veronica said. “I speak from experience.”
“You’re right but we’ll have to chance the roads no matter where we go. Besides, we can’t survive out there, just us.”
She smirked. “Speak for yourself, city boy, I still remember how to live out there.”
“I still remember it all too so don’t get cocky,” Quinton said with his own smirk. “What I mean is the CIA has the right of it. We need a place to settle down and live. We could survive in the woods but we’d all die eventually. We go with the group, we could be a part of building something, a new world even.”
Veronica grinned. “I never thought you could be so idealistic.”
“Shut up. I just think we can bring a lot to this group and they can help us. It’s a symbiotic relationship, one that we’d be stupid to pass up.”
She turned to Claudia. “What’s your vote?”
“I think we should stay. They’re good people and I like them.”
A simple enough statement and the one that held the most weight. They had looked out for Claudia when she was all alone and at her worst. She knew them and if she vouched for them, that was enough for Veronica.
“Alright then, we go north with the group.” She pushed herself to stand. “I should go tell Jackson.”
“Malcolm said he’d agreed to stay the night but he didn’t seem so sure about long term,” Quinton told her.
“I can convince him.”
“You don’t have to do that. He’s a grown man, he can make his own decisions.”